Inhibition of warmed-over flavor in uncured cooked meats

ABSTRACT

A method for inhibiting the development of warmed-over flavor in uncured meat where the meat is cooked, cooled and stored at above freezing temperature in the presence of the compound known as reductic acid, after which the stored meat may be consumed cold or reheated without the development of objectionable warmed-over flavor.

United States Patent Sato et al.

1] 3,810,998 [451 May 14,1974

INHIBITION OF WARMED-OVER FLAVOR IN UNCURED COOKED MEATS Inventors: Kunito Sato, Chicago; Gerald R. Hegarty, Elmhurst, both of II].

Assignee: Armour and Company, Chicago, Ill.

Filed: Nov. 3, 1972 Appl. No.2 303,526

US. Cl. 426/332 Int. Cl A22c 18/00 Field of Search 99/107, 108, 140,159;

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l2/l949 Coleman et al 99/107 l2/l958 Dekker 99/l08 X OTHER PUBLICATIONS I-Iackhs Chemical Dictionary, 1944, Published by McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., N.Y., pg. 729, Articles Entitled Reductic Acid and Reductone's.

Primary ExaminerI-Iyman Lord Attorney, Agent, or FirmFrank T. Barber 57 ABSTRACT 8 Claims, No Drawings This invention relates to a method for avoiding the development of warmed-over flavor in meats and meat products.

BACKGROUND lt is characteristic of meat products that after they have beencooked and then stored for a period of time in a cool place they normally develop a flavor different from the flavor they have when first cooked. This flavor has come to be associated with meats which have been reheated and served a second time and has come to be known in the meat packing industry and among consumers as warmed-over flavor. The development of this characteristic flavor does not affect the nutritional qualities of the meat, but it does very substantially affect the platability of the meat and the pleasure which may be derived either through odor or flavor of the meat as it is consumed. lt is easy to tell when meat has this characteristic, warmed-over flavor, and one does,

not have to be an expert to tell when this flavor has developed.

The warmed-over flavor does not. develop in raw meat but appears to start its development after cooking when the meat has'been allowed to cool. It appears to develop best at refrigeration temperatures of 30 to 50 F. (-l.l to C.) particularly so at about 38 F. (33 C.) which is a normal refrigeration temperature. warmed-over flavor can be detected after about twenty minutes or half an hour of storage, and comes to be well developed in 3 or 4 hours. Beef is especially affected by warmed-over flavor, and pork, veal and lamb are also affected. Poultry meat such as turkey and chicken and the like are very much affected. It has not been known what chemicals are involved in the development of warmed-over flavor, or what the mechanism of development may be. e

Further, we have noted that the warmed-over flavor does not develop in the case of cured meats, and by cured meats we mean meats which have been treated with curing agents such as nitrates and nitrates and high concentrations of salts such as the polyphosphates. However, in using the term uncured meats we do not I wish to exclude those meats which have been salted to taste or contain less than a mall quantity, of the order of 2 or 3 percent, of salt, which meats are classed as fresh" instead ofcured," and are capable of developing warmed-over flavor.

We exclude only those meats which have been subjected to curing treatments using salts such-as nitrites,

nitrates and phosphates at relatively low levels of the amount of work that has been done in adding flavors to meat and that flavors have been added to meats both to improve the flavor of the meats and to mask unwanted flavors. ln the present invention this is not our objective. We seek only to avoid the development of the undesirable warmed-over flavor but otherwise to leave the meat with its natural odor and flavor. It is, of course, desirable, in our invention that if there be any incidental change in the natural flavor of the meat that it be a pleasant and not an unpleasant change' We have found that warmed-over flavor in uncured meats is inhibited or avoided by the presence with the meat during the period of development, the compound 2,3*dihydroxy-2-cyclopenten-l-one, sometimes called reductic acid. The structural formula for this compound is given as follows:

In carrying out out method we simply mix the reductic acidin dry form or in aqueous solution with fresh ground beef, for example, and cook the ground beef containing the reductic acid in patties or otherwise. The cooked meat may then be cooled and stored in a refrigerator and then taken out and consumed cold or reheated to a temperature such as-above F. or to F. (37.8 to 656 C.) and consumed while warm. Benefit through avoidance of development of warmed-over flavor is obtained when the storage pe riod is over about 20 minutes or half an hour with greater benefit being obtained when the storage is severalhours. Further, the meat to which the reductic acid has been added may be repeatedly stored and reheated while still avoiding the warmed-over flavor.

From our finding it appears that whatever chemical reaction or other mechanism was taking place to'produce the unwanted warmed-over flavor, this was prevented or inhibited by the presence of reductic'acid and that this effect stays with the meat through subsequent heating of the product and is not dissipated by anything that is normally done to meat such as heating or freezing.

In the case of meat which is sold in a'body or chunk form such as a beef roast, the reductic acid may conveniently be administered in the form of a solution, suitably an aqueous solution, with the: solution being injected into the meat as by the use of a hollow needle. ln such cases the reductic, acid comes to be absorbed into the tissues. Application of eitherthe dry or solution form of the reductic acid may be made directly to the outer surface of the meat piece.

In the event pieces of meat are assembled together in the form of a loaf the reductic acid may be added to the pieces before they are pressedto form the loaf and the reductic acid will be absorbed from the surface of the pieces. Other methods of application will include soaking the meat pieces in a bath of reductic acid solution.

Our method is especially adaptable to beef and poultry meat, since these meats are particularly subject to the development of warmed-over flavor, but applies The amount of the reductic acid used in our process varies principally according to the weight of the meat being treated, 0.05 percent dry weight of the reductic acid based on the total weight of the meat being treated, is about a' minimum and about 2 percent on the same basis is about a maximum so far as added flavor is concerned. Of course, more than this could be used if added flavor is disregarded. Usually we prefer not to use more than l percent on a weight basis.

In practicing our improved method we prefer to add the reductic acid to raw meat, because it is easier to bet good distribution of the agent this way, but we do not believe the function of the agent in the inhibition of warmed-over flavor development is effective until the meat has been cooked arid cooled. The reductic acid may be added to the meat after it has been cooked as by injection or by any kind of mechanical manipulation which may be used to distribute the agent and which may be appropriate in the particular form of the cooked meat product employed.

After the treated meat has been cooked, it may be cooled and placed in a cooler or refrigerator for storage then removed after a time say from 20 minutes to half an hour or up to several hours or several days any time up to the time of bacterial spoilage of the meat and consumed cold, or reheated, and the warmed-over flavor will have been prevented or at least inhibited very substantially. By cooling the cooked meat we mean that we are reducing its temperature substantially below the cooking temperature, suitably below 50 F. C.). warmed-over flavor does not normally develop while the meat is held at or near the temperature at which it is first cooked, but once the factors are developed which produce warmed-over flavor they are not destroyed by heating even to cooking temperature. Also, we do not believe that warmed-over flavor is developcd while meat is frozen. Therefore, in practicing our method the meat is cooled from its cooking'temperature to below 50 F. (10 C.) and is stored at a temperature above freezing for a period in excess of minutes, suitably as long as several days, in the presence of the reductic acid to inhibit the warmed-over flavor. v

The following Table l contains data from the series of experiments which demonstrate the efficacy of reductic acid for the inhibition of warmed-over flavor in different kinds of meat which are ordinarily subject to development ofsuch flavor. In each experiment the redu'ctic acid was added to 10.0 grams of ground meat samples. The samples were cooked to 158 F. (70 C.) and stored for two days at 4 C. (392 F.) and then tested for the presence of warmed-over flavor. Each sample containing the reductic acid was accompanied by a corresponding sample which contained no reductic acid and which served as a control.

in further explanation of Table I, the first column describes the kind of meat used. The second column gives the concentration of the reductic acid compound in terms of the dry weight of the compound based on the weight of the meat treated. The third column gives the results of the subjective odor test, and the fourth column gives the value obtainedin a TBA test. The TBA test is a chemical test which measures the extent of warmed-over flavor development in meats and is more particularly described in an article contained in volume 37, page 44 of the Journal of American Oil Chemists Society by B. G. Tarladgis, B. M. Watts, M. T. Younathan and L. R. Dugan, Jr., 1960, entitled A Distillation Method for the Quantitative Determination of .Malonaldehyde in Rancid Foods."

TABLE I TBA Concenvalue, tratlon, (absorb- Treatment percent Odor anee) Control, beef Stating warmed-over 0. 520

avor. Beet plus 2,3-dlhydroxy- 0. 1 No detectable warmed- 0.032

ikzyclopenten-l-one. over flavor. Control, pork Poiatlve warmed-over 0. 138

over. Pork plus 2,3-dlhydroxy- 0.1 No detectable werme l- (J. 018

2-cyclopente1il-0no. over flavor. Control, lamb Ptgsltlve warmed-over 0.223

avor. Lamb plus 2,3-dlhy- O. 1 No detectable warmed- 0.073

droxy-Zcyclopenten-lover flavor. one. Control, white turkey Positive warmed-over 0. 315

meet. flavor. White turkeymeat plus 0. 1 N o detectable warmed- 0. 093

2,3'dihydroxyover flavor. cyclopenten-l-one. Control, dark turkey Strong warmed-over 0. 354

meet. flavor. Dark turkey meat plus 0.1 No detectable warmed- 0. 045

2,3-dlhydroxy-2- over flavor. cyclopenten-l-one. Control, veal Strong warmed-over 0.332

1 flavor. Veal plus 2,3-dihydroxy- 0.1 No detectable warmed- 0. 124

2-cyclopenten-1-one. over flavor.

While in the foregoing detailed description specific conditions have been given in the carryingout of our improved method and we have given numerous specific examples in which our improved method has been practiced, it is understood that many variations may be made in this method and that all such variations are to be deemed within the spirit of this description and with the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A method for inhibiting the development of warmed-over flavor in uncured cooked meats comprising adding to the uncured meat 2,3-dihydroxy-2- cyclopenten-l-one in the amount of from 0.05 to 2 percent based on the dry weight of the 2,3-dihydroxy- 2- cyclopenten-l-one and the weight of the meat, cooking the meat, cooling the meat to a temperature below 5( F., and storing the meat for at least 20 minutes at a ten perature above the freezing point of the meat.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the 2,3- dihydroxy-Z-cyclopenten- 1 -one is added to the meat before it is cooked.

3. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the 2,3- dihydroxy-2-cyclopenten-l-one is added after the meat is cooked.

4. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said meat is ground and said 2,3-dihydroxy-2-cyclopenten-l-one miteq itlt EPFEQEHQ. m at- 5. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said 2,3- dihydroxy-Z-cyclopenten- 1 -one is added in dry form to the meat.

6. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said 2,3- dihydroxy-Z-cyclopenten-l-one is added in the form of an aqueous solution to the meat.

7. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said solu tion is injected into the meat.

8. A method .as set forth in claim 1 wherein said stored meat is reheated to a temperature above F. 

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the 2,3-dihydroxy-2-cyclopenten-1-one is added to the meat before it is cooked.
 3. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the 2,3-dihydroxy-2-cyclopenten-1-one is added after the meat is cooked.
 4. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said meat is ground and said 2,3-dihydroxy-2-cyclopenten-1-one is mixed with the ground meat.
 5. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said 2,3-dihydroxy-2-cyclopenten-1-one is added in dry form to the meat.
 6. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said 2,3-dihydroxy-2-cyclopenten-1-one is added in the form of an aqueous solution to the meat.
 7. A method as set forth in claim 6 wherein said solution is injected into the meat.
 8. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein said stored meat is reheated to a temperature above 90* F. 